The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court yesterday, November 12, dismissed an urgent application to release funds from the estate of the late former deputy president David Mabuza after two months.

The application followed after Mabuza’s daughter Tamara Silinda and her mother Emunah Silinda sought relief relating to the implementation of previous court orders concerning interim maintenance, subsistence, and tertiary educational expenses.

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In his judgment, Acting Judge Maboku Mangena found that the application was misconceived, non-urgent, and without merit. He said the curators had filed their report with the Master of the High Court and complied with the court order, basing his judgment on several key findings.

The court order of October 2 required the interim curators to evaluate claims by October 7, file an assessment report by October 19, and effect verified maintenance payments subject to the Master’s consent by October 21.

The record proved that the curators strictly adhered to all prescribed steps and timelines, issuing their report on October 19 and disbursing the Master-authorised amount of R50 000 to each beneficiary before October 21.

Court rules against urgency

The court found the urgent application to be misconceived because the applicants confused their dissatisfaction over the R50 000 allocation with non-compliance by the curators.

The option to re-enrol the matter on an urgent basis was reserved solely for actual failure to comply with court directives, not for challenging a discretionary assessment made in accordance with the order.

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Under Section 12(3) of the Administration of Estates Act 66 of 1965, the Master of the High Court is the primary depository of administrative power and must apply her mind to authorise any release of money from an estate.

Curators bound to protect liquidity

The judgment emphasised that interim curators do not hold the full powers of a duly appointed executor. In exercising their discretion to pay interim maintenance, curators are legally bound to retain sufficient liquidity within the estate account to cover necessary ongoing administration expenses.

Maintenance must be allocated equitably, transparently, and without favouring any single beneficiary or household.

The court noted that no single child is entitled to exhaust estate liquidity for a multi-year university degree to the detriment of other dependent children.

The requirement to give priority to educational expenses meant curators had to consider such payments relative to available liquid funds, not guarantee full reimbursement.

Judge orders personal costs

The judge observed that the second applicant, the mother, acted as the chief litigator in repeated estate disputes, causing the estate to incur unnecessary legal expenses to the prejudice of other beneficiaries.

Because the application was ill-conceived and could have been avoided through straightforward legal engagement, the court ordered the second applicant to pay the legal costs on High Court party-and-party scale B.

Mabuza died on July 3, 2025, at the age of 64 in a hospital in Sandton, Gauteng, following a short illness.